Fandom Culture and Toxicity: Comprehensive Fan Community Fact Check

When it comes to any project, whether it be indie or Hollywood budget, the key to success is often down to the fans. Some

newer media does generate a fandom very quickly, often through intuitive online marketing campaigns and social media.

Movies like Longlegs and Brer Back created a whole out of cinema experience for people to interact with. So for

Brerack and Talk to Me, you kind of have this dark web website where you can find all of the artifacts that are featured

in the movie. And with Longlegs, they did the whole ARG marketing campaign, which basically allowed fans to interact

with all of these clues before the movie came out. And with indie projects, you often find a lot of free-to-watch pilot

episodes available on spaces like YouTube, which regularly serves as a way to generate hype and interest in a

project, as well as further fund the creation of that project. Thanks to the success of Hasbin Hotel's pilot episode,

which was released to Vizzy Pop's YouTube channel 6 years ago, we now have five guaranteed seasons and a finale as

backed by media giant Amazon Prime. Although, after the whole Friendship is Magic episode ending of season 2 where

all of the characters are going like this, ah, to like stop the whole missile thing to heaven exploding. Spoilers, I

guess. It's been out for ages. Come on, guys. Realistically, I don't really know what else they're going to explore in

five seasons. I feel they've covered a lot of the things and a lot of the mysteries that people were already

thinking about. Like Vox's whole evil plan already kind of got stopped in season 2. So unless he's going to

somehow be the big bad in the finale, I kind of feel like they they kind of speed ran that a little bit. Not to

mention that fans of all interests and skills keep the community alive and active through fan works and fan art.

For example, before big brands like Good Smile Company were stepping up to the plate in order to make new serial

experiments lane merchandise, only way of buying any kind of merchandise for the series was either paying insane

aftermarket costs or supporting an indie artist at anime conventions or on places like Etsy. To be clear, being a fan is

not a problem a good 99% of the time. And of course, myself and many other creators can literally only do this job

because of the support of people online who enjoy what we make or who enjoy us as people for as much as they get to

know us through a screen. We rely on that support. We rely on that fandom. However, one of the biggest growing

issues I'm noticing with a lot of online and offline fandom spaces are the fans themselves. Self-cannibalizing, self

arandizing, and often so loud, but so wrong. It feels like there's a nearly weekly rotation of different fandom

drama and discourse. fans have started to unintentionally erode their own communities and at times even limit the

new content being produced by the media or creator that they love. So, let's talk about it. Let's talk about the

issues with fandoms. Let's talk about the issues with [music] the fans. And I am going to give a very quick disclaimer

because I feel like it's going to be necessary because some fans are just insane. And I feel like at least putting

this disclaimer out there will quell some of the anger that I'm sure people are already feeling as they're typing on

the keyboard. But let's make this clear. Watch the whole video before you get angry. Number one, always the way to do

it. And number two, I am not here to chastise fans of a certain age. I'm not here to chastise fans who are new versus

old. And so again, my my opinion is not the oracle. You don't have to take it as fact, but I want to kind of delve into

some of the issues that people have highlighted to me and that I have noticed when it comes to fandom

behavior, when it comes to fans. And you're welcome to agree or disagree because at the end of the day, we're

allowed our own opinion, but let's be nice about it. Let's be constructive about it. So today's video was sponsored

by the beautiful members over on my Patreon because we don't have a regular sponsor, but we do have our ongoing

channel supporters. Starting at $250 a month, you can get ad free and downloadable viewing of all of my

publicly available content. And for otaku and oshi tier patreons, you also get early access viewing of my content

when possible. And of course, additional patron exclusive content for those tiers. Some of my most recent Patreon

exclusive content has included an updated office and collection tour which is over an hour long, as well as my two

panels from Megaon London, including one interactive panel that you can play along with whilst you watch. And of

course, I have more travel vlogs and other video ideas planned. So stay tuned for that, too, because they'll be

uploaded and scheduled as we go on. In a time where about 90% of the emails myself and other creators get for

sponsorships are AI, stuff like Dola AI, which are persistent and constant, and you can't filter them out. It is really

important and it's really really appreciated to have people actively supporting me, my channel, what I make

and create. Your direct support does mean a lot. It does mean the world. So, if you can, please consider checking out

the Patreon. So, first, I do really want to make sure I give fans their flowers because it truly would be a crime to

undermine how much heavy lifting fans [music] do in almost every niche and subculture. For example, AO3 is

essentially the fan works equivalent of the Library of Alexandria. This site has allowed many number of beautifully

written, badly written, and written with one hand stories. When I guested at Akumaon in Galloway earlier this year, I

saw a fantastic panel hosted by people who are obviously big fans of A3, all about the ABCs of AO3.

I got a passionate rundown and crash course on things like the Citrus Scale and Author's Curse. Because I'mma hold

my hands up when I say this, I'm actually not a big A3 user at all. I have barely used the site. I don't know

why I never really got into fanfiction in the sense of wad or AO3. I just I don't know why I never really got into

it. I feel like it's something you usually get into when you're younger. And that's not me saying that it's for

kids, but what I'm saying is I feel like you usually discover A3 when you're a teenager or at least get into it a bit

younger. I feel like I just never even knew about it or gravitated towards it. And so it was really fun now learning

about it and kind of learning how to use it if I ever decide that I want to actually sit down and read some fan

works. And the existence of sites like AO3 not only continued to feed the fans of long since discontinued series, but

has also been instrumental when it comes to a lot of queer representation, a lot of queer fan works, and also a space for

people to explore and discover their gender identity or their sexuality. Fans are more often than not the ones that

are creating queer stories and queer media, allowing those underrepresented in almost every single type of media to

finally have a place where they can be put into a story, put into a type of media. Speaking from personal

experience, the only kind of gay representation I ever saw in media came a lot later as a teenager. I didn't

really see any at all actually as a kid. And that was from Ugly Betty in series similar to it. And that was also again

gay men, not gay women, not lesbians. And so again, I feel like having spaces like AO3 and knowing that those exist

[music] is so important for queer teenagers to discover who they are and have a space to freely explore that

safely. Queer ships like Fallon and Marcel or Moka and Homer may not be officially canonized, but within the

fandom, these are commonly accepted head cannons that may as well just be canon. And equally, not just the written

creations of fans, but the physical creations of fans need to be heralded, too. No matter what kind of niche

series, book, or media that you're into, you can almost always find somebody selling a trinket or a keychain or an

art print of it at an anime convention or on selling sites like Shopify and Etsy. I'm having to be very careful

whilst holding this, but this is a Lane fan statue that I purchased a good couple of years ago. Now, I own a couple

of the official statues, including the scale statue, which is way overpriced for the quality. And this is still the

most impressive. Like, this is visually stunning. It is a fantastic piece of artwork. And again, this is made by one

independent artist and was something that I purchased far before Good Smile Company or any big brands were picking

up the license for it. This was the only thing that was available. And the quality clearly outshines a lot of the

available official merchandise, which costs just as much in some cases. Oh hell, what about Nana? It was a series

that was always beloved, but thanks to social media has gained a whole new generation of fans. People who were

going on to create edits on places like Tik Tok, people who were creating fan art and fan prints, people who were

making plushies and clothing. I personally loved the older Angel type nana clothing and jewelry that they did.

They did these really beautiful silver jewelry pieces, which I own two of. I have the Ren lock and the 707 key. And

they also did a couple of like t-shirts and bits and pieces as well based off of Nana. And equally, another indie brand

also did Nana merchandise before any official merchandise was starting to be pumped out. And that was Shop Secret

Heart. And they did this fantastic Nana belt, which I still own. They did this beautiful kind of red mohare sweater.

They did a lot of really cool stuff. They were producing highquality clothes way before the likes of things like

Vivian Westwood and Uniqlo came on the scene. And although it is hard to prove and so this is just my opinion so take

it with a grain of salt. As a fan of Vivian Westward and Nana and as somebody who has made many many many viral videos

on Vivian Westwood jewelry, Vivian Westwood collectibles, the orb lighters and Nana, I'd personally say that this

new wave of enthusiasm for Ayazawa's works is half the reason we've had so many collaborations, especially outside

of Japan. Sure, there might have always been something penciled in, but I feel like we may not have gotten the Vivian

Westward Nana collaboration with such hype here in the UK or in the US if it wasn't for the fact that they know that

there are active fans with their wallets ready wanting to pay money towards it, wanting to support Ayazawa and the

official Nana merchandise. However, for every Nana collaboration or visual novel being revived for merchandise, we also

have situations where fans get a little bit too enthusiastic, dare I say a little bit too entitled. Wait, you guys

have no Sichuan sauce? No. I want Sichuan sauce. Where's my Sichuan sauce? >> I'M PICKLE RICK. WHAT do I pickle Rick?

>> RICK RICK RICK. I'm Pickle Rick. >> We all remember the Rick and Morty fan base, don't we? The moment that Pickle

Rick episode dropped, the aura of the show went from a he's so me, I'm so intelligent, edgy, and misunderstood

vibe to this really bratty edge lord meme culture energy and started screaming, "I'm Pickle Rick," at the

underpaid McDonald's workers who were desperately just trying to make it through their shift. The desire to bring

back the McDonald's Mulan Sichuan dipping sauce was originally a meme that quickly went from funny to deeply

annoying. It was the physical pain of rolling your eyes as somebody thought it was really funny and interesting and

cool to again do this shtick at anime conventions, scream really loudly in the convention corridor and just make a

nuisance out of themselves. Mind you, half the time not being in cosplay, they would just be wearing a Pickle Rick

t-shirt or something stupid. They weren't even they weren't even cosplaying Pickle Rick. I could forgive

you if you were doing a whole like Pickle costume and then had like all the rat arms and everything made. At that

point, you've kind of earned it, but they were never doing anything so cool. They were always just like in a Pickle

Rick t-shirt, a Rick and Morty t-shirt, or maybe maybe dressed as Rick Sanchez. Badly, mind you. Many people started to

lose interest in Rick and Morty and being seen as a fan due to the shifting public opinion of the fan base going

from positive to deeply negative. Articles were being written about why people were ashamed to be a Rick and

Morty fan, attributing the downfall of the series to its consumers at large. Typing in Rick and Morty fans into

YouTube, you will find a plethora of videos from creators that you might recognize. Again, just kind of dogging

on how cringe-worthy and annoying the fandom became. But of course, this is by no means the first or only fandom to

become known as toxic and cringe. Not by a long shot. In fact, the legacy of a lot of adult animated television shows

tend to go from very positive to significantly more negative the longer that they go on for and the bigger their

fan base becomes. They go from favorable to wseworthy. Dare I say a second pickle has hit the towers. But if you couldn't

already tell, I of course have my own opinions and biases. And so instead, I put out a poll to you, my beautiful

audience, on Instagram, here on YouTube, and over on Tik Tok, to tell me what fandom you thought was the most toxic.

And needless to say, a lot of the results weren't exactly surprising. >> Hotel has been hotel.

>> Hasbin Hotel. >> Hasbin Hotel. Amazing digital circuit. Academia,

>> my amazing digital circus. >> I'm not surprised. To be fair, there were a few others included in here. It

wasn't just these three fandoms that were named the worst. And so, instead of criticizing these fandoms one by one,

I'm going to use these three as a main case study as to some of the continuing issues and patterns of behavior that

we're noticing within fandoms that are leading people to go from liking them to finding them cringe-worthy or

dislikable. the repeat offenders and behaviors that makes these series so controversial for onlookers and those

from within the fandom. I already know this section is going to be a rough watch for many, so please just stick

with me here. Let me just just just hear me out. So, when talking about young fans, I

think it's incredibly important to acknowledge that not only does a lot of media benefit from having younger fans,

but they also actively encourage it. A topic that could very easily be a video of its own and very well might be in

future is how modern mascot horror often tries to market itself broadly enough that it can appeal to a wide variety of

ages all the way from adults to people who shouldn't be playing the game according to the age rating. Sure, the

age in the game might say Peggy 16, but when your characters are often emblematic of popular children's

characters or follow the FNAF school of design, it's not hard to see why many young fans use this as their gateway

into horror. >> Appropriate for kids. Hi, LOL. I know this is the right place to ask, [music]

but I'm a kindergarten teacher and several boys in my class, ages 5 to six, are obsessed with Poppy Playtime.

Anytime they get their hands on crayons, they're drawing Nightmare HuggyWuggy, and one boy brings this terrifying

purple cat to school and it's all they play at recess, taking turns pretending to be different characters. [music]

From what I can see, it seems like a horror game. Would you let a kindergarter play or watch bits of Poppy

Playtime? Laugh, Mal. Let me know, please. The difference between something like Don't Hug Me I'm Scared fan base

and Poppy's Playtime, in my opinion, is intent. Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared is old school mascot horror. It was the thing

that you stumbled across when you were younger that you definitely felt like you shouldn't be watching. It came far

before the triedand-rue formula of Make Things Scary on Steam as a way to shill plush to children. I discovered Don't

Hug Me I'm Scared as a kid, and I have loved it very staunchly into adulthood, but I don't think it ever encouraged me

as a teenager or others my age to engage with it in a way that I see with a lot of modern fandoms. The merch that Don't

Hug Me I'm Scared initially offered was often sparse with the Lazio collaboration with Don't Hug Me I'm

Scared being something that I saved many, many, many, many paychecks to buy secondhand in order to wear it to my

university graduation. [cheering] Woo! Woohoo! And I really, really regret selling my yellow guy jumper, my Tony

the Clock bag, and that pinnor. I am so regretful. I really would like to reby it because I shouldn't have sold it, but

I sold it when I was broke, and I regret doing that. The barrier to entry for something like don't hug me I'm scared

was free because after all it was posted on YouTube. But the way that the creators interacted with fans didn't

feel like pandering. It was that kind of feeling of I'm not meant to be here. Kind of similar to how you might watch

horror movies when your parents are out of the house. You look at their DVD collection or you look at something on

Netflix when you know you're not meant to, but it feels like you want to anyway. However, many modern series,

both indie and industry, are fully aware of how much more likely success will be if you can tap into that teen or

pre-teen market. I love the whole concept of cute things gone dark as much as the next horror fan. And of course,

that in itself isn't a new concept. We've had stuff like Chucky, Dolly, Dearest, and other kind of cute things

gone bad stories for a long, long time before. For example, Hasbin Hotel is an adult show. It says as much in its

introduction [music] to the series. It tries and oftentimes, in my opinion, fails to tackle things like trauma,

essay, abuse, and addiction with a level of sincerity. It tries to tackle those things in a very real way. Again, I

wouldn't say it does a very good job of that personally, but it does try to tackle it. It does try to show a more

human, gritty angle despite the animation style and setting. And as such, the episodes are often rated as an

18 by the BFC board here in the UK. And to be clear, to be rated an 18 is quite a hard thing to do considering that a

lot of horror movies are rated as a 15. So again, to get an 18 rating on most of your episodes is actually quite

impressive. I'm assuming it's due to the amount of swearing in it, but I don't know. I've seen horror movies with gore

in it that get a lower rating. And yet, when I watch the show, I can't help but feel like the quirky character

personalities, the writing, all feel a little bit immature, a little bit like it's not meant for my age demographic.

Like the way that swearing is used in the dialogue within the show just feels really inorganic and kind of feels like

the first time I learned how to swear and I was using it all of the time in school and it just sounded immature

because the way that I was using the swear words wasn't meaningful. It was just kind of constant to be edgy and

interesting and mature. And equally stuff like Lucifer's rubber duck obsession or Angel's pet pig also just

feel like an easy way of marketing to teenagers. It's these kind of small bean isms, as I'm going to call it, that you

would find all over Tumblr and teenagers used to go crazy for in the 2010s. Hell, even the merchandise kind of feels like

it's not made strictly for adults, not like it's made for its 18-rated audience. these graphic prints in bright

colors, these very very kind of I don't know how to say this in a way that doesn't feel kind of mean towards

whoever's doing the graphic design or whatever. But I feel like the pride shirts, for as much as I'm hoping that

they were donating to a good cause, they probably were donating to something like Stonewall, which is great, but I feel

like the Pride shirts again felt a bit of a weird one to me personally. like as someone as an onlooker from the fandom

didn't feel like they were necessarily made for adults which is fine but again 18-rated show and of course also just

like backpacks and more trinkety items of the characters which wouldn't necessarily be used by adults in

day-to-day life and again to be clear there is nothing wrong with liking any of these things owning or wearing any of

these things if you are an adult I am not saying there is anything wrong with it not at all at the end of the day you

don't need to take an idea of what is cool or not cool or fine or whatever from me. I'm literally standing in a

room full of anime figurines. I've got these statues over here which people have an opinion on and that's fine. I am

not the proprietor of cool. Let's be quite clear here. I am not the proprietor of cool. And so if you are

somebody who likes this merch and you are an adult and a taxpayer, hell yeah, pay your taxes and buy whatever merch

you want. That's a joy of being an adult. I am not here to criticize that whatsoever. But again, my point is I

feel like a lot of the merchandise, and I'll put examples on screen, feel like it's marketed more to kids. It feels

like something that as a teenager you'd see in Hot Topic. And I feel like as an adult, I haven't shopped in anywhere

like Hot Topic seriously for a good 10 years. However, doesn't it seem a bit odd that a show that is marketed around

stuff like addiction and adult work and has a character named after PCP seems to be pandering to what they must see as a

very vocal young part of their audience. And this is kind of where the dichotomy between the adult themes of the show and

the age of some of these fans starts to come at odds. I have seen firsthand as well as seen other accounts of people

noticing a big volume of kids going to anime conventions or cosplay meetups wearing has been hotel or hell of a boss

costumes. You could argue that characters like Charlie Morning Star or Nifty are more appropriate for kids.

They would definitely like to tell you so. My god, if you discuss this online, kids will come in the comment sections

being like, "Hey, I'm just a kid, but by the way, it's okay to cosplay, Charlie. You are You are just a kid."

>> Hot take. Kids should be allowed to watch Hasbin Hotel. I mean, like, kids already watch it, so why would we try to

prevent them from watching it when they already do? When I was nine, I started watching Hasbin Hotel. Side note, my

favorite character is Angel Dust. He's so silly. >> It's up to you and it's between you and

your parent at the end of the day. However, it doesn't stop there because quite often you will still see obviously

minors, obviously underage people dressing as characters like [music] Angel Dust, who is canonically an adult

worker, a nightlife worker, an addict, and quite a big focal point for a lot of the kind of trauma within the series.

And when you do say, "Hey, maybe don't cosplay this character until you're 18," you will get met with a lot of angry

comments of kids telling you that they know better, that they're old enough, that they don't care, and they're going

to do it anyway. Many adults in fandoms do feel like they have to be responsible for other people's children when it

comes to attending anime conventions or going to cosplay meetups. They feel uncomfortable wearing a costume that

they're allowed to wear because they know that children may then be inserting themselves or introducing themselves

into a space that is now mixed ages when it's technically meant to be marketed towards adults. There's nothing wrong

with an adult wearing an Angel Dust costume, but I can't blame them for feeling really uncomfortable if a child

comes over and asks them for a selfie because they're a fan of the show and then trying to navigate that interaction

in a way that safeguards that child whilst also trying to contend with this feeling that you don't want to be there.

Or if we're going to step away from the cosplay element for a minute, what about the child that attended a Galaxy Con

panel with voice actors from Hasbin Hotel and asked them this >> question is specifically for Blake. when

you in episode one when you had to record the voice lines for the sex scene it for the the sex tape. Uh were you

ever embarrassed when you had to do the like yes daddy and moaning? >> To be clear, this person's voice

>> can anybody see this person? >> I'm nine. >> This person's voice is lower than mine.

They're 34. >> You're so mature. >> Everyone chill the [ __ ] out. [laughter]

>> Where are your parents? over there. [laughter] >> Shame on you.

>> In fact, by the looks of it, multiple times at this Galaxy Con, kids were coming up and in attendance of this

panel with these VAS, sometimes in cosplay. Some of the questions were totally innocent and some of them

weren't. And at the end of the day, it is up to con staff and the con rules to enforce an age limit if there is one on

panels. But again, I don't blame people for being uncomfortable, especially when this was streamed live. It's so

important for you as a parent to be an active participant in what your kid is watching, in what your kid is engaging

with. It is your responsibility. That is your tiny human. Please take care of them. Don't send them to a convention

without a trusted guardian on their hip at all times. Because at the end of the day, other people aren't there to

babysit your kid. And if something happens to them, it is entirely your responsibility. It's not the kids'

fault. It's not other attendees fault. It is your fault. From an outsider looking in, I'm not surprised that so

many people put Hasbin Hotel down as one of the most toxic fandoms of 2026. [music]

It is a show that has actively cultivated and pandered to such a wide age demographic. Is Hasbin Hotel age

appropriate for my 8-year-old son. He said that show was what all the kids talk about, but when he tries to watch

it on his account, [music] they say he can't. Why do kids watch what is not age appropriate for them? And look, I do get

it. I myself don't consider me or my content to be for children. I am not a children's entertainer, and I am not a

kids channel. But I am aware that the internet is a free-for-all, and kids will always end up where they're not

meant to, regardless of whether you tell them no. Especially because social media algorithms also push it to them. Like,

they are actively fed this stuff. And so in response, I've kind of always made my content accessible enough where even if

the topic isn't made for kids or appropriate for kids, it can still be processed and watched by them in a way

that I feel is generally a bit safer because ultimately it's my contribution to harm reduction in a space that

otherwise pushes anything to anyone. This mixing pot of ages also means that despite the age rating of the show,

there's very few adulton only spaces for conversation, discussion, cosplay, and artwork. So many fandoms, especially

those with adult topics, have so much discourse within them purely coming from teens versus adults. Taking a game that

I very clearly love, Needy Girl Overdose, it ties me out endlessly to see so many discussions coming from

minors about a game and its themes that was never meant for them. And again, that's not me saying that teenagers

aren't allowed an opinion. On the contrary, I have always been an opinionated [ __ ] and I was more so

as a teenager. However, that does make me feel a little bit more qualified to say that some spaces simply don't need

your input. Especially when your source for that input is, [music] I heard it from a friend. I saw it in a comment

section. I saw another video that I can't remember the name of or who posted it saying this or I always had a bad

vibe. In the current political state of the world, misinformation is already a huge issue, a huge, huge issue. But

social media comment sections and slime rant videos are a hotbed for terrible takes and the most vitriolic game of

telephone I think I've ever witnessed. The use of terms like pedo or predator have essentially lost all of their

weight online too because so often these things are used as a joke or are regurgitated by loud loud users without

a second of individual factchecking. And again, adults are also culpable of this too. Adults do this as well. Don't get

me wrong. We know this. We've been knowing this. Look at our politicians. But so often when you do click on one of

these comments and you go to that person's profile, [music] it has level 14 or level 16 in the bio. For series

and media that is aimed squarely at adults, you can hopefully start to understand how tiring it could be

wanting to post a cosplay of a character such as Angel Dust and having to deal with comments saying daddy from again

teenagers at times. A lot of my cosplay friends have been going through this or even being accused of glorifying essay

and abuse because you're cosplaying a victim of that behavior. The way that the mouthwashing fandom tore itself

apart within months was wild work. The release of the Ana Nroid by Good Smile Company had so many people in an

absolute feeding frenzy of drama. Some people were saying that the nroid was distasteful and wrong, glorifying what

happens to a woman in a game by basically immortalizing it as part of her character and selling it. Meanwhile,

others were basically saying, "Well, it's a horror game. You're going to have horror content. The character does have

that happen in the party scene. It's not an out ofplace thing to have." >> Randall, there is a cow outside.

>> There's a cow farm. You're going to find cows outside. >> Fork found in kitchen, dare I say. All

the while, people have been faking burn marks, sitting in wheelchairs, and pretending to have lost their limbs in

order to cosplay Curly, and using Curly quite often as the punchline of many jokes and memes [music] in the fandom.

And again, I'm not saying there is anything wrong about having discussions about the ethics of selling that

nandroid or the ethics of cosplaying Curly. I'm not saying there's anything bad about having those discussions. In

fact, I think it's good and healthy to have those discussions, have open conversations. But it's more so the

extreme way that they often get escalated where it goes from being productive to deeply personal and at

times just very very toxic and unproductive. It's a seeming lack of nuance and critical thinking. The I

think it's wrong so therefore it must be wrong attitude that many attribute down to age and a lack of life experience.

And again, it's not a crime to be young and have a lack of life experience. But it is quite often easy to spot when

people are young based off of how they engage in these conversations. But again, I also think that media like

Hasbin Hotel doesn't do anything to deter it. Sure, they can't stop kids from watching the show just as much as

games can't stop kids from watching Markiplier playthroughs. >> WAS THAT THE BITE OF 87?

>> Most of us, if not all of us, did this exact same stuff as a kid. And for many of us, it is actually a kind of cannon

life event as being a young fan. However, I really think it is easy to forget that there is a lack of a third

space for kids right now. When many kids come home from school, they're not going into the living room and watching

Simpsons on Channel 4 at 6:00 like I did. They usually have a smartphone or an iPad or a personal PC that they can

watch things like YouTube on that they can play games or communicate with their friends on. And even when young people

have had fandom [music] based social media that is aimed at them, such as Amino, those spaces are very, very hard

to safeguard and gatekeep away from adults with nefarious intentions. It feels like now kids come home, watch Tik

Tok, they make video edits or put photo replies on Tyler Catastrophe videos. Everybody, everybody know about Tyler

Catastrophe. Literally the hottest subject of YouTube the past week, 2 [music] weeks. Feels like every single

creator has made a video on Tyler Catastrophe. Can somebody else post something, please? Can anyone else post

content about anyone, literally anything else? The way that we as young fans interacted with fandoms isn't much

different than it is now. But we just had much less focus on social media and much less need for the affirmation that

it gives. Instagram fame, Tik Tok fame, 15 seconds of fame. These just weren't things that anyone really cared about to

any great degree when it came to being in a fandom when I was a teenager. Sure, you had internet successes. You had

internet celebrities and stars, but generally speaking, no one was going out of their way to post or create in order

to gain fame, in order to gain infamy. That just wasn't a motivation. And so, the way we interact with social media

was far less significant. But now, teens do feel an inherent pressure and need to be seen as involved in an online

community in order to feel like part of the community. The barrier for entry is lower than ever, but it can also grant

much more freedom that many teenagers understand the gravity of. But I can't and won't blame young fans for being

loud, argumentative, stubborn, and sometimes difficult to deal with because that's just being a teenager. That is a

right of passage. I have literally no doubt that if older Gen Z fans and beyond had the same access to social

media that young people do now, we'd probably be behaving the same way, whether we'd like to admit it or not.

Especially when, again, so many games and series actively pander to those below their age rating. And to be clear,

saying I'm a minor as an excuse to be a jerk online or get into arguments with adults is not a get out of jail free

card. Like you don't just get to weaponize being a minor when it's convenient for you. I think that's a bit

unfair and a bit silly when you yourself actively putting yourself in that position of being argumentative. But I

do think it's a very low blow when so many fandoms chalk up their toxicity to kids being involved when ultimately it's

adults who are setting those systems up. Another thing that many feel is poisoning the well when it comes to

fandoms is a desire to have e- fame. People from all fandoms, people from all walks of life want a slice of that

digital recognition. Unlike the earlier days of fandom, a lot of your qualifications as a fan feel like they

need to be made public and also be backed up by having a following. For cosplayers, this can feel increasingly

necessary in an ever growing competitive landscape online. It feels like to gain any traction or career in this niche,

you need to have a big online following. And technically, that's not incorrect. Having an online audience does help when

it comes to having a creative career in 2026. The whole song of the summer thing or making a song that actively catches

the interest of Tik Tok trends is an active marketing tool that musicians kind of need to use in order to compete

in again a very oversaturated market. Unfortunately, being active on social media is kind of necessary in a lot of

creative careers. And I guess coming off the back of that, a recent controversy surrounded cosplayer and content creator

Stella Chu, where on a podcast that you can find here on YouTube hosted by Inkwell asking the question as to

whether cosplay is sustainable as a career, Stella went on to say this. So, cosplay contests aren't actually part of

the cosplay community. People think they are, but they're not. Um the reason being is that at a cosplay convention um

100 people enter the cosplay contest. The cosplay contest does not get broadcasted. It only the audience

members get to watch. So you waste your entire Saturday. [music] Um that in that time a Tik Tocker would have made like

50 videos with 300 people and people did not like this take. And no before people jump down my throat. I also don't agree

with this take. Cosplay contests quite literally predate the modern cosplay community and are also an essential part

of cosplay history. Cosplay was originally handmade costumes at early sci-fi conventions and it later on

became things like cosplay competitions and masquerades as time went on. I do have a video lightly penciled in about

this topic as well as a panel that I have done and I'm doing this weekend uh in Perth about the history of cosplay

and about the importance of cosplay. So, I do like to think I'm pretty well read up on the history of cosplay and the

importance of masquerades and competitions. I think a lot of people understandably felt like this take was

kind of just boiling down cosplay and competitions into Tik Tok views and engagement. A recent thing that for many

of us didn't even exist when we first started cosplaying. For me, as somebody who's been attending anime conventions

for over a decade, I personally love going to them because I love indulging in the things that I enjoy in person.

It's a space to cosplay. It's a space to meet people. It's a space to joke about things and buy things and see artwork.

Even before I gained any kind of major following online, I would attend these events and I already knew a lot of the

people who worked there. I was already friends with cosplayers there. I kind of had a little circuit and community of

people that I already knew. I've also worked plenty of times on convention stores at major conventions. I don't

blame people for being upset and feeling like unintentionally or not, this take really leans into these hierarchal and

very sanitized views of what anime and cosplay community is. Disregarding the hard work of cosplay competition

entrance who have even had Stella herself as a judge for some events because Stella is a very capable and

very skilled cosmaker and cosplayer. I think it was this idea of only being in the hobby for the money or for the

stability of money, which is also a criticism that people have leveled at other creators such as Baby No Money.

And sure, to be clear, some people really are just in the hobby for money and fame. They can get away with an

unironed AliExpress cosplay and out of the bag wig purely because they fit eurocentric beauty standards. If you're

white, skinny, and you put on a blue wig, you will be called the best Meiku cosplayer, even if you haven't [ __ ]

tried. I get why people were upset and felt that she as a big name in cosplay could have better clarified or amended

this in response to people's disappointment. But to be fair, the podcast was about if cosplay [music] is

sustainable as a career and how to make it sustainable as a career. And in that sense, I can completely understand why

the focus would be on earning money and the best ways of doing so when it comes to sustainability and longevity doing it

as a job. Unfortunately, Tik Tok AdSense does pay beans and trying to grow any kind of platform anywhere is very very

difficult currently because it's a very oversaturated market. However, to play devil's advocate because I feel like

somebody kind of does need to here when it comes to relation of making cosplay sustainable, there are a few ways that

posting videos can make cosplay a sustainable [music] career and can make it easier to go to more events. Firstly,

if you do perform in competitions, if you do love making your cosplays and wanting to submit them into masquerades

and competitions, then filming the production of your cosplays, filming tutorials for other cosplayers, and also

just having videos of you wearing the cosplay and showing off the cosplay, can be a really great thing for your build

book, but can also be a great way of showcasing your work for people who aren't able to attend the convention in

person. And equally, posting videos and photos of you in cosplay, especially at conventions can later lead to the

opportunities of getting free tickets as a creator, meaning that you're able to attend more conventions, or at least the

door fee for conventions more often. You're able to take off a chunk of the cost. And of course, by posting

regularly, you can also get opportunities to work with brands and do paid work with brands. I've done paid

work with Genchin Impact. I've cosplayed for Genchin Impact. But even just if you're a smaller cosplayer posting your

cosplay content, you can very often get free contact lenses. Although, please don't work with TTDI. They're not safe.

Don't work with them. But if you get offered by UniSo or Pinky Paradise, they're very reliable. They're very,

very good. I do recommend it. And you can also get free costumes as well by posting content. And so, that can also

make cosplay more sustainable because it can make it more affordable to do new cosplays. It can make it a little easier

on your wallet doing a hobby. I think if you're making cosplay a career online, a lot of it is more about impressive

visuals, makeup artistry, and selling the character through a screen. And unfortunately, that can also rely on

conventional good looks and just being the kind of person who would have already got positive attention for the

way that they look online out of cosplay. Whilst cosplay competitions and cosplay competitors can make a career

through their skills, they can network with people around them. They can show off their work to judges who may have

industry [music] links and they may also get to come across cosplayers who want to commission them for work. There's a

few different avenues that you can have as somebody who can do seamstressing [music] skills, as somebody who can do

foam making skills. And again, I wouldn't say that either of these careers are better than the other one.

They're just two different ways of doing the job. Two different ways of having a career in this space. And again, they

are not the only ways. You can be an artist. You can be a trader. There's so many ways that you can be in a nerdy

creative space as a job that don't rely on being on social media or making costumes. Again, there's a balance to

it. I know many wonderful cosmakers as well as just cosplayers who use out of the bag costumes, and all of them are

wonderful and fantastic. However, in a sea of fair criticism and feedback and think pieces, there were unfortunately

some people who used it as an opportunity to do Tik Tok's favorite pastime, which is if I think person is

bad, then it's okay morally for me to bully them. Dare I say that fandom's obsession with

internet glory and the need to be right often leads to community cannibalism a little bit. If somebody posts a take

within a fandom that others don't agree with, many people often don't engage with it in good faith, going to the ends

of the earth and getting as angry and as heated as it takes to be seen as right and to vilify the person that they're

arguing against. This can be on a subject as divisive as shipping, which oh my god, shipping wars are crazy. You

don't want you don't even want to get involved. Don't get involved in a shipping discourse. I beg. It's just not

worth it. It's never worth it. Which, by the way, media literacy is dead when people are considering doomed yuri as a

dark ship. Moka Magika's dark ship. Shut up. Shut up. Do your homework. Do something product. What are we on about?

What are we doing? However, this can equally be as minimal as somebody saying, "I don't like this character,"

or, "I don't really like this show or series or media." In the case of content creators or just those who gain virality

in the worst possible way, a mistake or even just a lukewarm take is enough for Tik Tok users to post canceled next to

your name like a scarlet letter. People want human creators and relatable spaces. People yearn for the old days of

YouTube. Where did where did Zoe Sug go? I miss old Dan and Phil. I miss the vlog crew. I miss the Brick Crew. I I miss

how things used to be when it was all authentic and nice and everybody was nice and normal and it wasn't this big

game of fame. But when people have a human opinion or make a human mistake that others don't agree with, they cast

them out. They throw them out with such anger, later going on to lament the lack of good creators fresh off the corpse of

the last one that they just consumed. Like really, it is this predictable vitriolic news cycle in every fandom.

Like you can predict it. Every week there's a new person of the week, a new villain of the week, there's a new meme

of the week, there's a new viral video of the week. Hey guys, we're in the original. Smile guys, we're in the

original. Shut up. Actually, it's so evil and toxic and mean. Like, so often it goes from being a little bit funny to

people just wanting to be angry and witch hunt and put somebody's head on a spike. Like, you guys, not you watching,

not you guys, not you. Hopefully not you. Come on now. Um, but like so many people just just use it as an

opportunity to be [ __ ] vile. Like some people are [ __ ] vile with it. Like they really are. It's like you've

killed their family. Like cancellation is just so unserious despite being so angry and overwhelming for those who are

on the other end of it. >> If he [laughter] comes if he comes on me, I'm going to do this.

>> And boom, I lived. Stella 2 being cancelled went from well-informed videos that were correcting it or discussing it

and just kind of wanting an explanation or wanting to expand on it or wanting to offer their opinion, which again you're

allowed to do at the end of the day. It's the internet. It is what it is. You're allowed to make an opinion or

form an opinion or post an opinion. That's the joy of the internet. [music] To randoms also just using goofy Roblox

sounds and photo edits and memes being like, "What the hell? Shut up." that was it went from something productive with

people who have skin in the game to just randoms wanting to have their piece of the drama pie. People being genuinely

vile to her under the term of problematic, which again is one of the most overused terms ever. I've used it

before because it's a clickbait term. That is just what it's turned into. It is literally just clickbait word vomit.

It is what it is. Like if you're watching a YouTube video, thumbnails and titles kind of have to be clickbay. That

is just business unfortunately. I wish it weren't. It kind of is. You can make a really good positive video and people

won't watch it. You make a drama video on Tyler Catastrophe and all of a sudden it gets 200,000 views in a day. And

look, I get it. We all have opinions. I make my [ __ ] ass opinion my job. And plenty of people don't like them. But I

do feel like so many fandoms are so hair trigger when it comes to minor infractions. Going ahead to then make

somebody's life a living hell by proxy. Harassing cosplayers just for the crime of being cringe or just for the way they

look in some cases. >> I don't care. I will never forgive y'all for running that one deu cosplayer

completely off the internet. Hi. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about this video right here that

I posted back in early 2020. If you don't know me, I am the Todoroki cosplayer from this video. Believe it or

not, I'm not actually here to talk about the comments people have made about me because I personally don't care. I know

that that video is cringey. I know that it was stupid. I posted it when I was a kid and to this day I still make fun of

it. I still cringe at that video. This isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the horrible, horrible

comments that I have seen about the cosplayer who dueted that video. I was mutuals with this person back in

2020 and I believe that I'm still mutuals with them to this day. They just don't post anymore because they know if

they did, they would receive the same kind of crude and awful comments that they got back then, too. I can't even

open the comment section anymore without it just being memes of this person's face. The whole the whole comment

section more. Again, I don't care if it's just a joke to you guys. If you parttook in that at

all, you helped successfully ruin someone's life. One cosplayer called cosplayer 96 had the most vile comments

posted all over their content purely because they did the Hikari dance trend which I also did by the way but they

were just like not abbed up. They didn't have abs. They weren't ripped and they had body hair which I fear is normal cuz

they are an adult. I feel body hair is normal. Using AI to make photos of him look bigger to make him obese which is

also ironic considering the crucifixion other creators and cosplayers have had for using AI. So again, a little bit

weird. As well as people also saying that he again was setting the community back. What does that even mean?

>> Hi, cosplayer 96 aka that one Hikari cosplayer. I just want to let you guys know that I'm not sorry for cosplaying

as Hikari. I like doing Hikari. This was a closet cosplay and people were body shaming the hell out of me. But in the

end, I benefited from it. I got powerful because of haters like you. And I want to say to all my followers and kind

supporters, thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance. Thank you for sticking with me. And if any of these

haters harassed you, I apologize. [music] Let's all stick together. Let's fight

hate with love. I'm with you. [music] >> Being predatory or creepy or nonsy is actually just is just now a popular joke

apparently. Like I've seen it on so many videos at this point. I've seen it on animatics. I've seen it [music] on this

guy's posts. Like again like I I what are we doing? Why is this normalized behavior in fandoms to go around

accusing people of very very heavy accusations, lifer ruining accusations as if it's just a joke? He he angel

shot. I need an angel shot people. Okay. Yeah, that's is that [music] funny? Is that funny? You better not be the same

crowd that was annoyed about the onion android. The the again, hypocrisy is a human thing because I guarantee people

who were posting like, "Oh my god, I need an angel shot. He he like, oh my god, is anyone else scared in the

comments right now?" I bet your bottom [ __ ] dollar you're going to go on somebody's post who is scared of like a

man being weird or something and you'll be like, "Oh my god, babe." Like, "It's not funny. People need to take it

seriously. Why are people posting photo responses in the comments?" Yeah, you're that you're the guy. That's you in a

different font. What are we doing? Meanwhile, criminals, convicted criminals such as Chris Chan, get made

into these almost crypted level memes for cosplays and even merchandise at anime conventions. seem like people I

see cosplaying Chris Chan and making it a joke despite the severity of their crimes being enough to justify stalking

them their whole life. Like again, we got some disparity here in the narrative when it comes to how we treat people.

Why are so many creators who have consistently been a net positive or completely harmless to their respective

communities constantly under threat of [music] abuse and harassment? And yet cosplaying a predator or selling

merchandise of their character at anime conventions is still a funny meme in 2026. Dare I say that 300 years ago,

some of these fans would be the ones burning women as witches. And equally, these same fans that bully others under

the guise of they're bad, so it's okay. Suddenly turning a blind eye or becoming baby bred ignorant when it comes to

racism and genuine toxicity within their ranks. The Amazing Digital Circus is a fandom

that has recently been a sad display of their community letting themselves down. Voice actors Michael Kovak and Ashley

Nichols recently had a seven-year-old video resurface where they were making a joke regarding the ends slur during a

game of Jackbox Live. They misunderstood the usernames of one of the people in their [music] stream. And so later in

the stream, they ended up making a t-shirt design based around the username negative, playing into the

misunderstanding of the pronunciation of it with Michael Kovak then signing off at the end of that segment by saying

goodbye neg. They were all grown adults and both Ashley and Michael Kovc have put statements on their Twitter

apologizing and at the end of the day it is not my apology to accept. It's not my apology to give any take on cuz to be

quite blunt I have never faced any kind of oppression based off of the usage of that word. But it is the fans responses

that I want to personally get into because you see the amazing digital circus fandom apparently already had an

ongoing issue with racism and fat phobia within it. However, having the fandom's darling character, Jax, now coming under

fire, really illuminated how far many fans were willing to go to justify and baby the actions of an adult man and

downplay the upset of the black community [music] within it. >> Hot take. I do not care about the

Amazing Digital Circus controversy, mainly to do with his voice actor, Michael Kobach. I saw the clip and I saw

what he said, but we also need to remember that that was all said 7 years ago. That's right, 7 years ago. And

people are still blaming him for it. He apologized after it being brought up and also explained how he was immature,

which I understand it was 7 years ago. Yes, he was still a grown adult and should know better and to not say that

and joke about that, but once again, he's he's matured enough and he's grown to see that his actions were wrong. He

apologized multiple times about this and I don't see why it's still being complained about if it was 7 years ago.

I know I keep bringing this up, but if it was 7 years ago and I did something like that, I would have forgotten about

it, too. And I would have apologized only when it was brought up. Back to my memory. We need to remember that this

has not been a recent action. If it was a recent action, no, I would not forgive him for this. But since it's just so

old, I do forgive him and I feel like it's not his fault. >> Hey y'all, Euro here and I want to talk

about my take on the Kovox situation. So, in case you don't know, 7 years ago, Michael, who is the voice actor for

famous characters like Jax from Tad Core and from Murder Drums, he said the N-word, I'm pretty sure, and now he's

being bashed because of it. This is obviously wrong no matter the time period. Although he did apologize for it

and recognized what he did was wrong, but obviously just because he apologized doesn't make it any less wrong. But it

was 7 years ago, though he probably changed drastically since then. But obviously I don't know him personally or

anything and I have no idea how his mind works. But I'm pretty sure people can change within that time. Also, I am not

defending him. I am simply stating what I think. It has been a digital slurry of faceless slime rants defending Michael

by saying that it was seven years ago and he's obviously changed and people are being a bit silly because he didn't

actually say the word even though Michael himself did say and apologize for the fact that actually the joke only

works because it is actively playing on the n-word. Meanwhile, the black community, as per usual, is having to

pull up a chair once again and gentle parent nisonens as to why this joke has upset some people, why this joke can be

upsetting, why they can feel upset at that voice actor and maybe their response, as well as how the community

is now responding to the voice actor's usage of that word. And to be clear, the joke, regardless of whether you found it

funny or offensive or not, has now led to a lot of memes and artwork, as well as one popular content creator deciding

to replicate this incident at the glitch booth at a convention. >> Yo, it's my mega. What's up, [ __ ]

[laughter] >> Bye, [ __ ] Nea. This behavior being normalized, being

questioned, and being made into a meme made space for this kind of behavior to suddenly feel okay and appropriate.

Sometimes it's not just the original behavior that's an issue, but it's also the fallout that it causes and

encourages. With racism, sometimes we don't need to understand it to simply listen. I will never know the lived

experience of being a person of color, of being a minority group judged and discriminated against based off the

color of my skin. And although I do try my best to use my platform to elevate their voices and to talk about

situations pertaining [music] to the things that they go through within fandoms and niches, I also know that

every day is still a school day for me. It's why in my video on body paint, I invited black cosplayers to come on and

talk about their lived experience as a black cosplayer, as well as talk about why using protected hairstyles or skin

colors as a costume is not okay. Because ultimately, they are the best people to illuminate others who don't have those

experiences about why these things are an issue. Even though to be honest at this point it's 2026 we should be

knowing better. I don't think we have a lack of resources. I just think some of us don't want to open our ears or don't

want to look at them. Equally I've had meet and greets at conventions where the digital circus VAS have been present and

I can certify that Michael Kovac's line was the longest there. It spiraled around the creators table at points like

it was so so long. I don't think Michael Kovak is going to be losing his career over this. I don't think Ashley is going

to be losing her career over this. I don't think any of the cast are. I think the amazing digital circus coming to

cinemas is a good thing. I think indie animation getting to be in the big screen is a really good thing. Iron Lung

was a fantastic success. Amazing digital circus come to cinemas is great. Anime now screening in cinemas is great. Like

it's a net positive. And I also haven't seen any videos from black creators calling to cancel anyone. No one's

trying to cancel anyone. >> Yo, it's my nega. What's up nga? >> Hi [ __ ] Nega. So, a clip of a voice

actor from a popular indie series joking about the n-word resurfaced recently, and a big part of the fandom is ignoring

the racism, claiming that black people are overreacting, and the actor shouldn't have had to issue an apology.

But now, you've got people yelling that slur at the company's booth in public because they think it's funny. Any black

nerd can tell you that when you enter a fandom, it's not a matter of if you'll experience discrimination, it's when. We

see it in the way black cosplayers are treated, what goes viral. The next time you're in an artist alley, count how

many prints you see being sold that have any black people. You can't look at the objective reality of bigotry and say,

"No, THAT'S JUST AN EDGY MINORITY." And I'm not saying my boundaries on this are the only correct one, but y'all are

consistently creating environments where things like this happen. Do something about your community attracting bigots.

And if that's not a deal breaker for you, don't downplay black people speaking against it. But I think again a

lot of people are confusing black people just talking about things calmly, may I add, for being this aggressive cancel

culture attitude, which in itself kind of feels like a little bit of a microaggression to kind of see a calm

discussion from a black person as an attack on a guy who happens to also just be a white dude. It's not the best

optics. I'll tell you that for free. But like again, no one's calling to cancel these people. At least no one that I've

seen. No one whose voices and opinions really seem to matter. Like faceless slime rants and random videos with Miku

dancing in the background, I wouldn't say are a good primary, secondary, or tertiary source for literally any

information. However, it will be the people who vehemly defended him that will inevitably have to look back on

their own behavior and defense [music] of him. If they themselves ever gain their own fandom from their projects or

from their digital career, they might find themselves in two, three, four, five, six, seven years having to

basically dress their audience and say, "Hey, me going out of my way to actively defend the use of the n-word or to

actively defend the use or illusion of the n-word was wrong, guys. Like, you don't know where you're going to be in

seven years and how you might feel about that." When Glitch Productions themselves are making it known that they

don't agree with this behavior, do fans really need to go out of their way to crucify themselves for a man that is

culpable of his own behavior or who they've only met through paid interactions at a convention? Again, I

don't think loyalty is a bad trait to have. In fact, it's an important thing to have when it comes to being a fan at

times. Most creatives, myself included, do benefit from having people who dedicatedly support what we make or what

we do. But when it comes to racism, so many fans suddenly get a lot quieter in their cancel culture crusade. The recent

Jaba cosplay controversy is one in a long lineage of instances where people are using protected hairstyles or

darkening their skin to cosplay a character to wear as a costume. Cookie Run Kingdom, Husband Hotel, South Park

where somebody decided it was a good idea to dress Kyle in striped pajamas and then maybe Cartman as a member of

the SS. Blackface Alistister Blackface Serpentious. Cusco from the Emperor's New Groove cosplayed by a woman who is

openly racist. Not to mention this dumbass bootlicker who's cosplaying Freerun as an ice agent. You would not

be popular with the Freerun cast. I fear maybe Aura the guillotine would like you. Meanwhile, the cosplayer has the

soulless white walker stare of somebody who doesn't have an ounce of warmth within their body. When pulled up on

this behavior, the argument of well cosplay is for everyone [music] gets levied, which is crazy because people

don't have that same attitude towards black cosplayers just cosplaying a non-black character. All of a sudden,

they are the chocolate version of that character. They are the n-word version of Meiku. I don't remember Miku being a

slave. Like, that's the kind of comments black people get on their cosplays for just existing, by the way. And yet, when

black cosplayers are pointing out, hey, I'm getting harassed horrifically for cosplaying, for just being in the hobby,

it's crickets. It's crickets. Like, it takes somebody passing away for people to start being a little bit more vocal

about like, cosplays for everyone, guys. Cosplay is for everyone. How about you just actually care beforehand? How about

you care before harm is done? How about that? How about them apples? Stick up for the blurs in the chat, please. Also,

I learned the word blurred. It was really cool. I really like that word. Stick up for the blurs. Am I allowed?

Hopefully, that's fine. The idea that black fans are entitled for head cannoning a certain character or drawing

fan art of a character as being black, meanwhile, white people are out here giving themselves box braids in order to